Reversible electric fin-type baseboard heater



Nov. 18, 1958 P. WICK 2,861,167

REVERSIBLE ELECTRIC FIN-TYPE BASEBOARD HEATER Filed March 4, 1957 I7 12w 29 2: E l

INVENTOR. ALWOOD R W1C K ATTO R'N EY United States Patent 2,861,167 7 IREVERSIBLE ELECTRIC FIN-TYPE BASEBOARD HEATER Alwood P. Wick, Portland,Oreg. Application March 4, 1957, Serial No. 643,783

2 Claims. (Cl. 219 34) This invention relates in general to electricheaters for building interiors, and, more particularly,to the type ofelectric heaters which are adapted to be mounted on interior wallsurfaces, especially near the bottomrof such wall surfaces, or along thebaseboard; The invention also relates specifically to the so-calledfin-type heaters in which a plurality of parallel, spaced,heat-conducting fins extend outwardly from the heating element orheating means.

An object of the invention is to provide an improved electric heater ofthe type above indicated which can be removably connected to anysuitableelectric outlet in a wall or wall baseboard of a room and whichcan extend in either direction from such outlet as preferred.

A related, more specific, object of the invention is to provide animproved fin-type heater, the top and bottom half portions of which willbe identical, so that, as far as the heater is concerned, it will makeno difference which half portion is uppermost.

Another object of the invention is toprovide an improved reversibleheater through which a maximum free' flow of air can takeplace when theheater is mounted on a wall or baseboard, regardless of the position inwhich the heater is mounted.

An important object of this invention is to provide an eflicientelectric heater in which no easily accessible portion will become heatedto such degree as to be capable of harming any person or animalinadvertently contacting the heater in operation.

A further object of the invention is to provide an im-' proved electricbaseboard heater which will include a specially formedprotecting grid soarranged that articles of furniture, when moved into ontact with theheater, will be prevented by the grid from receiving any heat damage.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a heater which willserve the purposes above indicated and at the same time be simple andpractical in construction and capable of being placed on the market atmoderate cost.

The manner in which these objects are attained, and the construction andarrangement of the component parts of the heater, will be readilyunderstood from the following brief description with reference to theaccompanying drawings, wherein: I

Figure 1 is a fore-shortened elevation showing, in full lines, theheater mounted in one position on a wall baseboard andcon'nected with anelectric outlet or socket, and indicating in broken lines, the mountingof the heater in reversed position and connected with the same socket;Figure 2 is'an enlargedfore-shortened elevation of the heatercorresponding to Figure l but with various portions of the heater brokenaway for the sake of clarity; v I

Figure 3 is a sectional elevation drawn to a still larger scale, thesection being taken on the line indicated at 3-3 in Figure 1;and y JFigure 4 is a fragmentary horizontal section, drawn to the same scale asFigure 3, and taken on the line indicated at 44 in Figures 1 and 3.

-' -f end walls 14 and 15.

Two or more spaced, identical bracket plates, the number depending uponthe length of the heater, are secured to the back wall 11 equidistantfrom the top and bottom walls 12 and 13 and arranged in substantiallyvertical planes, that is to say, in planes perpendicular to the plane ofthe-back Wall 11. One of these bracket plates is shown at 15 in Figure3. These bracket plates are rigidly secured to the back wall by anysuitable means (not shown) and preferably have the shape of isoscelestrapezoids, with the longer parallel edge being outermost.

in Figure 3, are held between the flanges The outer edges of the top andbottom Walls 12 and 13 terminate in inwardly-extending flanges 12 and 13respectively and a pair of identical, curved heat reflecting anddeflecting surface members 17 and 18, shown best and 13 respectively andthe adjacent edges of the bracket plates 16. These reflecting surfacemembers extend for nearly the entire length of the housing 141.

Each of the bracket plates 16 has a central rectangular opening throughwhich an elongated, rectangular, channel housing 19 extends and in whichthe housing 19 is secured. This channel housing 19 extends almost theentire length of the heater, terminating at short distance from the endwall 14 and terminating at the transverse wall or bulkhead wall 33 nearthe opposite end Wall 15. The housing 19 A series of identical,rectangular, heat-conducting fins 22, having central rectangularopenings corresponding to the size of the channel housing 1?, aremounted on this.

channel housing and are equidistantly spaced apart along the entirelength of the channel housing, preferably being spaced apart only afraction of an inch. As shown in Figure 3, the rear or inner edges ofthese fins 22 do not extend to the back wall but are spaced a shortdistance from the back Wall. Also their front edges do not extend out asfar as the corresponding front edges of the bracket plates 16.

Afront cover plate 23 is rigidly secured to the front edges of thebracket plates 16 and extends along approximately the same distance asthe channel housing 19 for the heating element. As shown best in Figure3, in addition to being spaced a slight distance beyond the front edgesof the heat-conducting fins 22, the front cover plate 23 turns inwardlyalong its longitudinal edges, forming the pair of inturned flanges 24,24 extending around and spaced a slight distance from the front cornerportions of the fins 22.

The front cover plate 23 has a central elongated cutaway portion orrectangular slot 25, terminating a short distance from the ends of thecover plate 23. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the width of this opening25 preferably does not exceed the width of the channel housing 19 whichcontains the heating element. A protecting, specially shaped, expandedmetal grid 26 is mounted in the opening 25 and extends forwardlytherefrom. The edge portions 26' of thisp'rotecting'grid extend in thesame plane and are secured to the inside face of the front cover plate23 along the top and bottom of the opening 25, as shown in Figure 3. Theintervening portion of the grid is projected forwardly in a series ofconnected identical open pyramids (Figures 3 and 4).

It will be evident from Figure 3 that, when the heater is mounted indesired location on the wall or baseboard, the forwardly extending grid26 prevents any object, and particularly a piece of furniture, frombeing shoved any closer to the heating element than the outer series ofridges on the protecting grid 26 will permit. Due to the fact thatconsiderable portion of the heat from the walls of the housing channel19 is conducted away from the channel housing 19 by the fins 22 and tothe fact that the front edges of these fins do not touch the cover plate23, and also of course due to the fact that there will be a constantcirculation of air up and around as well as through this assembly offins, the front plate 23 never becomes too hot to touch. Furthermore,the opening 25 in the front plate 23 and the metal grid 26, extendingfrom the opening, act to reduce the temperature of the front plate 23.

Even though this front cover plate 23 is not too hot to touch therestill might be the possibility that if a piece of furniture were allowedto remain in actual contact with this front plate 23 for any length oftime the finish on the furniture in the area of contact would suffersome damage. However, the forwardly protruding grid 26, by keeping suchpiece of furniture spaced from the plate 23 to a minimum distance equalto the extent to which the protecting grid protrudes, keeps the piece offurniture from contact with the plate 23.

In Figure 3 the arrows X indicate the direction of air flow and theusual course which the air currents will take through the heater, thecool air entering at the bottom and passing mainly upwardly through thefin assembly and then leaving the heater at the top. While some air willpass through and from the grid 26 this will be a relatively smallamount, although of course some amount of heat radiation will take placethrough the grid.

The reflecting and deflecting curved surface members 17 and 18, and thefact that the fins 22 are spaced from the rear wall 11, prevent the rearwall 11 from becoming excessively warm, so that the heater can safely beset in place on the wall or baseboard as indicated in Figures 1 and 3.

Not only does the close spacing of the fins make it impossible for achild or household pet to have any contact with the channel housing 19in which the heating element is located, but the position and shape ofthe cover plate 23 make even contact with the edges of the fins 22diflicult, and furthermore the edges of the fins do not becomedangerously hot.

It will be apparent from Figure 3 that it makes absolutely nodifference, as far as the operation and efiiciency of the heater areconcerned, whether the heater is secured to the wall or baseboard W withthe side 13 and curved surface member 1% at the bottom, as illustrated,or whether the position of the heater is reversed with the side 12 andcurved surface member 17 at the'bottom. Thus, if the baseboard electricoutlet socket is so located that it is not convenient to place theheater to the left of the socket, in the manner illustrated in Figures 1and 2, the heater can just as satisfactorily be placed to the right ofthe socket as indicated by the broken lines in Figure 1.

The heater is attached in place on the wall or baseboard in any suitablemanner, as, for example, by a pair of screws 27 (Figure 2) passingthrough holes in the rear wall 11 of the heater near the opposite endsof the housing 10. End cover plates 28 and 29 extend over the spaces inthe respective ends of the heater beyond the termination of the channelhousing 19 and main cover plate 23. These end cover plates 28 and 29 areremovably secured by means of screws, as shown, to pairs of mountingbrackets 30, 30 and 31, 31, respectively, which in turn are secured tothe end walls 14 and 15 respectively.

I claim:

1. In a reversible electric baseboard heater, an openfaced rectangularhousing having a rear wall and identical top and bottom walls, a heatingelement container extending horizontally and centrally along in saidhousing, brackets mounted on said rear wall of said housing supportingsaid container, a series of identical vertical fins mounted on saidcontainer and extending from the open face of said housing, the rearedges of said fins spaced from said rear wall, the top and bottom endsof said fins spaced equal distances below and above said top and bottomwalls respectively of said housing, the front edges of said fins lyingin a plane parallel to but spaced in front of the plane of the frontedges of said top and bottom walls of said housing, a vertical frontcover plate extending over the front edges of said fins and spaced fromsaid front edges, said cover plate supported by said brackets, saidcover plate having a central elongated horizontal slot substantiallyco-extensive with said container and located at the same height as saidcontainer, a protruding protector grid extending forwardly from saidcover plate opening, whereby to prevent articles of furnature and thelike from being brought into actual contact with said cover plate, saidprotector grid formed with converging top and bottom walls, and a pairof identical'reflecting surface members in said housing extending fromthe front edges of said top and bottom walls respectively to said rearwall, said container,

' said fins, said cover plate, and said protector grid beingsymmetrically positioned with respect to the longitudinal center line ofsaid housing, whereby said heater will function with equal efliciency ifthe position of said top and bottom walls is reversed.

2. A reversible electric baseboard heater including an open-faced,rectangular housing having a rear wall, end walls, and identical top andbottom walls, a heating ele ment container extending longitudinally andcentrally along said housing, bracket plates having the shape ofisosceles trapezoids secured in said housing and supporting saidcontainer, a series of identical, substantially rectangular fins mountedon said container, said fins lying in planes substantially perpendicularto said rear wall of said housing, the edges of said fins spaced fromsaid rear wall, the top and bottom ends of said fins spaced equaldistances below and above said top and bottom walls respectively of saidhousing, a front cover plate extending over the front edges of said finsand spaced from said front edges, said cover plate supported by saidbracket plates, the longitudinal edges of said cover plate turnedinwardly and extending a short distance over the edge of said fins andspaced a slight distance from said fin ends, said cover plate having acentral, elongated opening, a protruding protector grid extendingforwardly from said cover plate opening, whereby to prevent articles offurniture and the like from being brought into actual contact with saidcover plate, and a pair or identical, curved reflecting surface membersin said housing extending from the front edges of said top and bottomwalls respectively to the edges of said bracket plates at said rearwall, said container, said fins, said cover plate and said protectorgrid being symmetrically positioned with respect to the longitudinalcenter line of said housing, whereby said heater will function withequal efiiciency if the position of said top and bottom walls isreversed.

